Serpent's Past
by Princess Mariana
Summary: Dumbledore sends Harry,Ginny,Ron,Hermione,and an unknown girl,Rowena, to the past where the meet the young Tom Riddle. Tom takes an interest in Rowena and her powerful magic.He separates her from her friends and replaces them.What is he thinking? HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Harry Potter or anything you recognize. Contains spoilers. You should read the books before reading this. **

"Hermione!" someone called. Hermione turned around. A black haired boy was running over to her. "Hello Harry," she said tiredly.

"Professor Dumbledore needs to talk to us," Harry said. When she didn't respond fast enough, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the headmaster's office. "Harry," Hermione said, "it's five o'clock in the morning. What is going on?"

The black-haired boy didn't respond, but continued pulling her to Dumbledore's office. Once there, he stopped, panting. Dumbledore looked down at her and smiled. She noticed that Ron was there, too. "I'm so glad you could make it," the old professor said, "I have grave news. Hogwarts is no longer safe. I will be sending you to a time where you can grow up without a dark wizard trying to kill you all."

Surprise flashed through Hermione, "You mean you're sending us back in time for our safety? We could change the future and then not even be born!"

"I have found a way to make everything you do permanent without any complications, like you not being born. Are there any other problems?" Dumbledore said calmly. This didn't reassure Hermione, but she remained silent.

They shook their heads. "We're set," Harry said nervously

"Good," Dumbledore replied, "but you mustn't kill anyone, even for the greater good. You will be going to Hogwarts, and you will be set as home schooled children and all of you will be purebloods. All expenses will be paid for. Ginny and Miss Goodwel will be joining you. Harry and Ron, your last names will change to Smith and Cornet. Do you have any questions?"

"Who is 'Miss Goodwel'?" Hermione asked.

"Someone who is home schooled and who, for her safety, will be joining you," Dumbledore replied, "If she is sorted in Slytherin, don't hate her. She has had a troubled past; worse than Harry's. Your can trust her with your life and I expect you to keep her safe, even though I don't think she'll need it."

"Why are all of us going?" Ron asked.

"Safety because you five are in a lot in danger and you'll need to help each other so far away from home," Dumbledore replied.

"When do we leave?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore beamed, "Now."

At that moment Ginny and a black haired girl burst in, all carrying a lot of trunks. "Sorry we're late, Professor," Ginny apologized, "We had to pack for ourselves and three other people."

"You're right on time," Dumbledore answered, "Everyone ready?"

All the children nodded. The old headmaster took out a time turner and gave it to Hermione. They all grouped together, except for Dumbledore. Hermione put the time turner around all the people seventeen and younger. And they were off.

When they opened their eyes, they were in a headmaster's office in a different time period. Hermione hurriedly pocketed the time turner just as the door opened. An old man walked in the room and beamed at them. "I'm so glad you'll be joining us this year," he squeaked, "I'm Professor Dippet, the headmaster. You must be Ron and Ginny Smith," the Weasleys nodded, and the man continued, "And you two must be Harry Cornet and Hermione Granger." Harry and Hermione nodded. He nodded to Goodwel, "I went to school with your grandmother; talented witch. Good! Good!" the old professor cried, "I'll take you to the Great Hall to be sorted and introduced to the school. Leave your things here and a house elf will collect them."

They nodded and followed Professor Dippet out of the room. "Do not explode if you see a future death eater's ancestor," Hermione hissed to her companions who nodded.

As they entered the Great Hall, everyone stared at them. The stares continued when they went to the head table. A sorting hat and its stool was up their along with the teachers. "We have students who have been home schooled and, since their guardians have died, will be joining us," Dippet told the school, "Introduce yourselves, please," he told the new students. "I'm Ginny Smith and this is my brother Ron Smith," Ginny said.

Harry introduced himself and Hermione, "This is Ginny's cousin, Hermione Granger. I am her cousin, but not the Smith's cousin, Harry Cornet."

Hermione smiled hesitantly. Harry smiled with her. The school politely applauded. "Now for the sorting," Dippet announced, not noticing Miss Goodwel hadn't introduced herself. He motioned Ron over to the sorting hat. He put it on his head.

"You will be the only one sorted correctly, except another, for she will be sorted almost correctly. Better be…Gryffindor!" the hat told him.

Ron grinned and went to the Gryffindor table. Harry was next. "I'm sorry, but the wrong house you shall be in…Hufflepuff!" the hat said.

Harry winced and went to the Hufflepuff table. Ginny put on the hat and received an apology as she was put in "Slytherin!"

The same thing happened to Hermione who was put into "Ravenclaw!"

When Goodwel put on the hat, it took awhile. "Hmm…" the hat said in her ear, "You'll be sorted almost correctly, unlike most of your friends. You're not brave enough for Gryffindor. At least not physically, maybe mentally, if you let that emotion go, you could be, but I don't think you will…no, not Gryffindor. You're just enough for Hufflepuff and can be loyal when you have to…but that doesn't fit either. You'd fit very well in Ravenclaw, but learning isn't your first priority. You still need to gather you're emotion and harness them, something that is very simple for Ravenclaws…actually, mostly everyone…the best fitting is…Slytherin!"

Dippet made the sorting hat and the stool disappear before telling the students to eat. Ron was becoming friends with Enid Corner and Eric Longbottom.

Harry was being welcomed by practically the whole Hufflepuff house, but he mostly made friends with Terrence, or Terr, Bones and Carey Abbott.

At the Ravenclaw table, Hermione was half-heartedly greeted by everyone except for a very friendly Phil Turnip who instantly befriended her.

Ginny and Goodwel didn't have such good luck, though. The Slytherins just looked at them for awhile, before diverting their gaze. "Umm," Goodwel whispered nervously, "We don't know what time we're in and Dumbledore gets crazy ideas, so You-Know-Who might be a child here. Don't do anything rash if you see him."

Ginny nodded, but the former Gryffindor paled a bit when a boy with dark black hair went over to them. He had a prefect badge on. "Hello," the boy said. "Welcome to Slytherin. I'm Tom Riddle. I hope you like Hogwarts."

Ginny froze. Goodwel looked embarrassed. "I'm Rowena Goodwel," she said shyly, looking at her plate instead of him, "This is Ginny Smith."

Tom Riddle looked at the other girl who nodded stiffly, then raised his eyebrows at Rowena, "The rest of the people in your group were related, but not you?"

She shook her head, "No, my mother was a friend of Hermione's mother. Mrs. Granger found out about me right before she died. She ensured that I would be taken out of the orphanage to go to Hogwarts with Hermione and her family."

"Are you an orphan?" Tom asked and Ginny noticed he was looking at Rowena strangely.

Rowena glanced up at him, then at her plate again, "My mother died giving birth to me and my father had long since abandoned me." Tom saw a flash of fury cross her face as she continued with almost some smugness, "He's dead now, and if he'd have stayed with my mother, he would've lived."

Tom changed the subject hesitantly, "Where did you live before now?"

"Scotland," Ginny piped up, rescuing Rowena.

Tom tried to make a conversation again, "Do you have any hobbies of any kind?"

"Quiditch," Ginny promptly said.

"What about you?" Tom kindly asked Rowena.

Rowena blushed, "I like to duel, but I'm not too good at it."

The two girls began to eat a bit. Tom paused, but then did the same. After dinner he helpfully led them to the Slytherin common room. Because of their late arrival, the two girls had a room to themselves, to sleep in. When they were safely inside, Ginny blurted out, "Harry is going to be so mad. What are we going to do?"

Rowena looked thoughtful and replied, "We have to tell everyone. They'll find out anyways. All we have to do is treat him like anyone else."

"Easy for you to say," Ginny snapped, "He hasn't tried to kill you and your brother."

Rowena looked up with a sad smile, "Actually he's tried to do me in before I was even born. Then, when he failed, he killed my mother. After that, he tried to recruit me and when you say 'no' to a dark lord, they aren't exactly your best friend."

Ginny shook her head, "Sorry, but I really don't know anything about you. Did your father really abandon you?"

"Everything I told Riddle was true," Rowena replied, "except for the obvious things that you know were lies. I grew up the same way as him, so I guess it wasn't very wise to tell him that."

Ginny sighed, "I'm too tired to think. Let's discuss this later."

The boys weren't mad, they were furious. Harry and Ron wanted to kill Riddle, but knew they couldn't because of the promise they had made Dumbledore. "Didn't you notice how many times he told you to turn the hour glass, Hermione?" Ron asked when the group was in the Room of Requirement the next day, during breakfast hour.

Hermione shook her head nervously, "Only twice, but each time turner goes back different amounts on one turn."

"I don't see the problem," Rowena said quietly.

"The problem," Harry said, "is that the kid version of the guy who killed millions of people happens to be in the same castle as me."

"He was in the same castle as you," Rowena replied sensibly, "in your first and second year. He was in your head last year."

"I don't want to take classes with a murderous psycho!" Ron cried.

"You're not in too many classes with him and he isn't mean. In fact he is the nicest Slytherin I've ever met, at least on the outside. So it isn't going to be to hard to ignore the fact that he will become the darkest wizard of all time," Rowena argued back. "If anyone, it should be hard for Ginny and me because we're in the same house, plus, if we forget he isn't evil, one of us will join his fan club. And classes are starting soon and I don't want to be late."

At that she left. Hermione watched her leave thoughtfully. Hermione hesitantly said, "As much as I don't want to admit it, she does have a point."

All of them sighed in unison and went to start their first day of school.

The first class Rowena had was potions. Hermione and Tom Riddle shared this class with her along with a handful of Gryffindors and Slytherins. When the potions master, Professor Slughorn, asked a question, Hermione, Rowena, and Riddle's hands went in the air. Hermione and Tom were surprised at Rowena's ability to answer questions and by the way she answered questions. She answered them, not like she was reading out of a book, but like she was writing a letter about the question, except not that long. Professor Slughorn was delighted at the three students' complete answers. During the class, for answering questions, Slytherin received one hundred points and Ravenclaw, thirty.

Slughorn paired everyone up for making the Deliate potion; a potion for clearing headaches. He put Tom and Rowena together, and Hermione and Malfoy. Both Slytherin boys were delighted by this pairing, but the girls weren't. Tom wanted to learn more about Rowena, but Rowena was very shy, especially to him, since he was the future Lord Voldemort. Malfoy thought that Hermione was pretty and smart. Hermione, however, hated his grandson and didn't want to pretend that she liked Malfoy.

Rowena and Tom worked in silence, where Malfoy talked a lot to Hermione, who remained silent, trying not to lose her temper at the things he was saying. Finally Tom said something to Rowena. She blinked, "I'm sorry but I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?"

He repeated his words, "How are you liking Hogwarts so far?"

Her eyes lit up, "It's amazing. There are secret passages and secret rooms everywhere. And it's a lot easier learning here than it was at the orphanage."

Tom sprinkled something green into the potion, while saying, "Who taught you at your orphanage?"

Rowena blushed and handed him a blue thing that looked like a rock, "I had to teach myself. The ministry gave me permission as long as no one caught me, since I couldn't go to school."

"No wonder it's easier to learn here," Tom commented, dropping the blue 'rock' into the potion.

They were silent for the rest of the class. At the end of the class, they were the only students to of finished their potion correctly. Slughorn awarded them fifty points. Rowena walked out of potions class with a very glum Hermione. "Cheer up," Rowena told her, "The only reason you didn't do well was because Malfoy didn't want to be quiet."

Hermione shook her head, "It's not that. Well, it's part of it. But You-Know-Who has taken an interest in you. When Ron and Harry find out, they'll be furious and overprotective."

"He's not interested in me, he's just being nice," Rowena replied, "But why would they be overprotective? They barely know me."

Hermione answered, "We made a promise to Dumbledore to keep you safe and you're personality makes you fast friends. But Riddle is interested in you, for who knows why reasons."

Rowena said in a dubious tone, "If you say so. You're the Ravenclaw."

Rowena's next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tom Riddle was in this class with her, too. Rowena suspected that she was in all his classes. Harry, Hermione, and Ron also took this class. Professor Merrythought said to the class, "I hope you studied for the upcoming duel. There are many evil wizards out there, so you need to be prepared. You can use any spell you know that is not illegal, deadly, or maiming your opponent. Once you have been defeated, you are out of the tournament. I will keep on putting you in pairs."

The four new students exchanged worried looks. "Professor," Hermione hesitantly said to the professor, "we didn't study, since we're new."

Merrythought waved it away, "Just do you best."

Harry looked worriedly at Rowena, "Can you duel?"

She nodded nervously. Professor Merrythought put them into two lines. The people in front went into an area where there were barriers to make sure no one got hurt. At first nothing exciting happened. People just threw random spells at each other. Most people went down after an Expelliarmus.

By the time one fourth the class of the class time was over, only Ron, Harry, Hermione, Rowena, and Tom were left. Ron and Harry went against each other and Harry won. Then a very terrified Hermione went against Riddle, who beat her easily. Rowena went against Harry and that duel lasted about a minute. Harry had to keep ducking because of all the nonverbal spells she shot at him. He never had a chance to cast a spell of his own. Finally she disarmed him.

It was Rowena's turn to duel Tom Riddle. Hermione looked worried and Harry was frantic. Ron just looked very pale. "Our final contestants," the delight Professor Merrythought exclaimed, "Bow!"

The two Slytherins obeyed; they bowed to each other, both not showing any emotion. "Duel!" cried the old professor.

And they dueled, both nonverbally. It was hard to keep track on what was going on. Light kept on coming out of Tom and Rowena's wands, but they always managed to either block or duck in time not to get hit. No one heard the bell ring because of all the noise the duel was making and how much everyone was transfixed. Since the doors where locked the students for the next class couldn't get in and no one noticed them. Finally the other teachers noticed. Professor Dumbledore pushed his way through the crowd. When he reached the door, he unlocked it. "Can you finish this duel later?" Dumbledore asked Professor Merrythought. She nodded slowly and then shouted, "The duel has temporarily ended. Class dismissed!"

Tom Riddle and Rowena stopped dueling instantly. They grabbed their books and headed out the door, pushing through the crowd. Finally, the rest of the class regained their senses and did the same, talking about the duel.

Rowena waited for Hermione, Harry, and Ron at their next class, History of Magic. Tom Riddle, of course, was also in this class. In the middle of the living Professor Binns' lecture, Harry whispered to Rowena, "How do you know how to duel so well? And nonverbally, too!"

"Practice," she said in an undertone. Before he could ask anymore questions, she shook her head and mouthed, "Later."

After History of Magic, was lunch. "How was your day so far?" Rowena asked Ginny politely.

"It was fine, but I wish I was a sixth year so I could be in the same classes as you and the others," Ginny replied, "But I heard a rumor that you were dueling Tom Riddle!"

Rowena smiled slightly, "I did, actually, and we will probably continue later, since we didn't finish."

"But he'll become You-Know-Who! How can you take dueling him so lightly?" Ginny exclaimed.

For no apparent reason, she blushed and didn't say anything. "I mean," Ginny continued, "no one, except for Harry and Dumbledore, has ever survived a duel with him once he becomes, what he becomes!"

Rowena blushed even more and replied quietly, "I have dueled with him before and – never mind."

"So - What?!" Ginny had tried to continue, but Rowena's words had sunk in. "You've dueled him before and you're still alive?!"

Ginny stared at the sixth year, amazed, before asking quietly, "What were you going to say?"

"I have no reason to tell you that," Rowena quickly replied and started to eat. Before Ginny could ask anything else, their worst enemy came to Rowena's rescue. "Nice duel," he told her.

She blushed, "Thanks, you did very well, also, um…Riddle."

He smiled at her, "Please call me Tom."

She shyly smiled back, "Alright, Tom."

"So," Ginny said, trying to sound casual, "Is it true you are continuing that duel?"

Tom smiled at Ginny, making her wince, and replied politely, "I was just going to give Rowena the letter for her about that."

The prefect handed Rowena a letter as he stood up to leave. She opened it.

_Dear Miss Rowena Goodwel,_

_You and Tom Riddle can restart your duel tonight after dinner. The whole school is invited. _

_Yours truly,_

_Mary Merrythought. _

She showed Ginny the letter who instantly stood up, saying, "We need to talk with the others, now."

Rowena nodded and followed her out the Great Hall door. The rest of the students from the future followed them. They all met in the Room of Requirement. "I vote we run away," Ron said.

"Why would we do that?" Rowena asked.

"Because snake-face-to-be is about to duel you and he won't like losing," Ron replied.

"He isn't going to kill me!" Rowena exclaimed. "Not with all the witnesses around!"

Harry crossed his arms, "It's too risky. You could get hurt."

She sighed, "You fought him when you were eleven. I'm sure I'll survive. Anyways, getting hurt isn't the end of the world."

"You almost sound like you want to do this," Ginny stated, "Anyways, what were you going to say when you changed your mind at lunch?" Ginny explained their conversation they had had at lunch to the others.

Rowena blushed, "You're either going to laugh at me or be furious."

"We're not leaving until you tell," Hermione threatened.

"Fine," Rowena said through gritted teeth, "I was going to say that it's kind of fun dueling him."

She quickly bolted for the door leaving four surprised students behind. There was a very long pause when Harry said abruptly, "O.K. That was unexpected."

The four all stood up, as if in a trance, and followed Rowena out.

The next class was Transfiguration, which was the Hermione, Ron, and Harry's favorite class. They were supposed to turn beetles into working watches. Professor Dumbledore, the Transfiguration teacher, explained it very well, and was more cheerful than Professor McGonagall had been, or would be. The four sixth years all sat together with Tom Riddle, much to their distaste.

The three best friends had never done anything like that before at Hogwarts so they didn't know how, even Hermione. But Rowena and Tom did. Tom did it on his first try. Rowena turned her beetle into a watch, but the hands didn't move. "Here," a soft voice said from right next to her, "let me help."

She jumped as Tom moved her hands lower down her wand. When he released them, he told her, "Try again."

She waved her wand and said the incantation again. The watch started ticking. "Thanks," she said, blushing furiously.

"No problem," he said politely, "I would help your friends, but I don't think they like me very much."

Ron and Harry both were about to reply rudely when Hermione kicked them. Rowena quickly said, "It's not you; it's your father they…don't like."

Tom's eyes never left her face, "Really and how do they know my father?"

"No idea," Rowena replied. "But I do know that their parents and your father were enemies and Mr. Cornet and your father wanted very much to duel each other to the death, but Mrs. Cornet wouldn't hear of it."

"I understand," Riddle replied; it sounded like he understood more than Rowena had said, out loud.

There was a long, awkward pause. "Ginny said she liked Quidditch," Tom said. Harry set his beetle on fire and Ron accidentally jabbed his wand at his beetle, killing it. Tom gave them strange looks as Dumbledore gave them new beetles, before he continued, "Do you?"

Rowena shook her head, "No offense to anyone present, but I think it's a worthless sport."

"Oh, I was just wondering because all of the Hogwarts' teams have to redo their tryouts, for various reasons," said Tom.

Rowena could see that Harry wanted to ask something, but couldn't, because of who Tom Riddle was. For both his and Ron's sake, she asked Tom for them, "Do you know when they are?"

Tom Riddle smiled at the four, "The Saturday after next, I think."

"Thank you," Rowena thanked him since she doubted the others would.

The next two lessons passed in a blur as did dinner. Finally, it was time for the duel. Almost the whole school showed up in the Great Hall. There was a platform for the duelers and safety barriers around it.

The two contestants bowed and then dueled. It was the same as it had been in class. No one except the duelers knew what was going on. It just looked like they were throwing light at each other and dodging a lot. Tom started to do badly and so he used his most powerful weapon that he could do in front of witnesses. The Slytherin boy waved his wand and a big snake appeared, facing Rowena. She muttered a spell and the audience could neither see nor hear what was going on in the dueling ring. They assumed that neither could Tom and Rowena, but the two could.

The snake neared Rowena, hissing. She stood her ground and hissed something of her own. Tom was very surprised when he found out he could understand her. She had told the snake to go away. The snake, to Tom's amazement, vanished. Tom quickly disarmed her, but wasn't fast enough. When the school could see the duel again, both opponents were disarmed and staring at each other.

Two balls of light formed in the gap between them. One was red; the other one was blue. They seemed to be circling each other. Every time they hit each other, Tom and Rowena flinched. Suddenly the balls entered each other and both Slytherins collapsed.

When Rowena awoke, she didn't know where she was. Automatically, she slowly grabbed her wand, hoping no one had notice her doing this. Eyes still closed, she listened for any signs of danger and a conversation to explain where she was. "Why isn't she waking up?" a familiar female voice anxiously said. "Riddle was up hours ago."

Another familiar voice, which made shivers go down her spine, responded, "Ginny, she's awake now."

She smiled an irritated smile and opened her eyes to find Harry and Ron to the right of the cot she was on and Ginny and Hermione to the left of it. But it wasn't these four she was looking at. It was the person standing at the foot of her bed, Tom Riddle. "I'd like it back now," she crossly told him, sitting up.

He smiled, "Likewise."

She knelt at the end of her bed, facing him. They took out their wand and pointed them at the other's heart. "What are you doing?" Harry cried.

Rowena rolled her eyes, and said, every word dipped in sarcasm, "We're about to kill each other."

They then closed their eyes. Rowena collapsed back onto the bed. Tom just shuddered. Rowena slowly regained consciousness second later. "Sorry," she said guiltily, "I was rude. It's just that Tom's magic didn't settle well in me. I was fighting it, but it crept into my mode."

Ginny stared at her, "That didn't make any sense, you know."

Tom laughed, a nice sound, even though it was cold, "It made perfect sense."

"You could explain," Hermione suggested.

Rowena cocked her head, thinking. After a pause she cautiously explained, "The two balls of light at the end of the duel were our magic. Since we didn't have wands, we fought with pure, raw magic. We were equally powerful, so the magics couldn't fight the other. Instead, they switched places. But we are forever bound, not that that is a bad or good thing."

There was applause from the door way of the large room; Rowena guessed she was in the hospital wing. "Wonderful explanation," Professor Dippet squeaked, "We came to see how you were fairing."

Professor Dumbledore stepped out from behind him, smiling at them, blue eyes twinkling, "I've never seen someone show there true magic before much less from sixth years. Where ever did you learn?"

Rowena blushed, "It was an accident."

Tom nodded, "Same here."

"Well done! Well done, indeed!" Dippet cried, "Fifty points to Slytherin! Amazing duel! Just amazing!"

"I happened to over hear," Professor Slughorn said, walking into the room, "And I wanted to give you four this."

He handed Tom, Ginny, Hermione, and Rowena scrolls tied in velvet ribbon. He then left. "I'll leave you now," Dippet said cheerfully and left. Dumbledore followed him.

Rowena and Tom opened their scrolls. Rowena read:

_You have been invited to t__he Slughorn Festival. Please bring a date with you._

_It will be in a week._

_Professor Slughorn_

Ginny smiled at Harry and Rowena noticed that Hermione was doing the same thing to Ron. "Harry, will you go to the Slughorn Festival with me?" Ginny asked Harry, who nodded, also smiling.

Hermione asked Ron the same thing and got the same reaction. There was a pause until Tom broke it, hesitantly asking, "Rowena, could you do me a favor?"

Rowena considered for a moment before replying, "Depends what it is. I won't kill anyone or anything for you."

Tom smiled at the joke, though detected a hint of seriousness in it, "Will you save me from my fan club by going with me?"

Whatever Rowena had been expecting him to say, this definitely wasn't it. "Sure," she automatically said, "but just as friends."

He nodded, "Of course."

"This time we really should run away," Ron stated. It was a Saturday and Harry had scheduled a meeting with the group in the Room of Requirement. Rowena looked up from her homework, "Why would we do that?"

"Because," Ginny wailed, "you said that you would go to the party with Tom Riddle!"

"He's probably going to use you," Harry put in.

"Or kill you," Hermione added.

"What about hurting him so he can't go?" Ron proposed to the group.

Rowena sighed, "I can take care of myself, and he hasn't done anything drastic yet."

"He's killed at least five people!" Harry exclaimed.

Rowena replied dryly, "I've killed about ten and I'm younger than him."

They all stared at her and Hermione said, "Oh."

Then Harry's eyes lit up, "I have an idea!"

The group's eyes watched Rowena expectantly until she stood up, "I suppose that you want me gone why you talk about this 'great plan'." The group nodded and she left.

On Thursday, during a break after lunch, Rowena was sitting outside, reading. Cries of anger disturbed her peace. She looked up. About five yards away from her, Harry and Ron were yelling at each other, wands out. _So this, _she thought, mildly amused, _is their 'great plan.'_

She stood up and walked over to them, arms crossed. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked them, sounding angry.

Startled by her tone, they looked up, guiltily. "H-he started it," managed Ron.

She rolled her eyes, trying to look furious, "And _this _was your _plan_? I told you, I can take care of myself!"

Her voice became louder and louder until she was almost shouting. The two boys looked at each other and fled. Rowena sighed and went back to sitting and reading. "That was interesting," a voice said, "I wonder what it was about."

Rowena looked up to see Tom about a yard away, watching her with curiosity. Sighing she stood up and told him calmly, "They were going to probably jinx you if you tried to stop them from 'fighting.'"

Tom stepped closer to her, "And why would they do that?"

"They didn't like your request," she answered smoothly, "They think you're going to either kill me, torture me, or both."

He thought for a moment, "And so you lost your temper at their protectiveness?"

She shook her head, "I pretended to lose me temper. I've learned that when I actually get angry, bad things tend to happen."

"Do you think I'm going to do anything to you?"

She smiled wickedly, "You might try, but I don't think you'll succeed."

With that, she walked away towards the castle, leaving an amused Tom Riddle behind.

**Ha, ha, ha! That last part makes me laugh, even though it's really stupid sounding. **

_**Information from the author**_**:**** Later in the story you will find out why on earth Dumbledore did such a stupid thing as send them to Tom Riddle's time. **

**All the characters are a bit OC, so sorry about that. **

**The sorting hat sorted everyone into different houses for a reason. **

**In this part of the story, at least, Tom Riddle is **_**NOT**_** in love with Rowena. He just senses her power and wants her to join him. The balls of light (which is really magic) is sort of proof of that. It will all be explained later. They will eventually fall in love, of course. **

**Rowena might seem perfect, at the moment, but she starts to become a little pathetic after awhile. Eventually she becomes a bit more…sensible, when she understands Tom Riddle a bit more. **

**Please read and review! If you have any questions on this chapter****, put them in your review****and ****I will post them on this note thingy on this story in this chapter. **

**Thanks,**

**Princess Mariana **


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did, but I don't. Contains spoilers. Read the books before reading this. Read the first chapter of this fan fiction before reading this. **

"I thought you were opposed to me going with him," Rowena said gloomily as Hermione and Ginny played with her hair.

"We are," Ginny replied cheerfully, "but we might as well make the best of it. Hold still!"

Rowena sighed, "This is against my will."

"That's the point," Ginny answered back.

The three girls were in the Room of Requirement getting ready for the party with the room's help. The room had tied Rowena to a chair since she didn't want Ginny and Hermione doing her hair. Ginny and Hermione were already ready. They had their hair pinned up prettily and were wearing beautiful blue dresses. Rowena was going to go in a simple brown dress until the other girls had ambushed her. So she was now getting her hair done, and she was afraid they were going to force her into a different dress.

"There," Hermione said with a sigh. The room made a mirror appear for Rowena to see how she looked. The two former Gryffindors girls had combed through her hair until not even a small snarl dared to appear. Her brown hair was now very smooth and elegant looking. It went to her shoulder in waves. Rowena gasped. Hermione laughed at her surprise and Ginny said, grinning wickedly, "Now for the dress."

Rowena groaned as she was forced into a beautiful silvery green dress. It went down to floor. Rowena gritted her teeth so not to protest, but couldn't help asking, "Are you done yet?"

"Nope," Hermione said happily. She draped a silver shawl around Rowena's shoulders, and then said, "Now you look perfect!"

"Remind me again why you're making me dress up for a party when I'm going with the future dark lord!" Rowena grumbled.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Now that you have to go, you argue against it!"

Rowena replied coolly, "I never wanted to go, but it was unavoidable. And the reason I wanted to not go was because I don't like getting dressed up, not him."

Hermione and Ginny didn't reply. Instead they dragged her out of the room, saying, "The boys said they would meet in the entrance hall."

The girls were early, so they had to wait for the boys. "Hello," a boy with black hair said to the girls.

"Hi," Ginny said awkwardly.

The boy grinned, "I'm Alphard Black, a seventh year Slytherin. You three must be the new kids."

"Hello, Black," a cold, deadly voice said, somehow maintaining politeness, from behind the three girl.

Alphard paled tremendously and put on a forced smile before stepping back. He gave a nod to Tom Riddle who appeared next to the girls. There was an awkward pause while the future Lord Voldemort gave Sirius Black's future uncle, who was getting paler by the second and staring at the floor, a death look. Tom Riddle finally broke his gaze, smiled, and said in a much warmer voice to the girls, "Hello."

Rowena hesitantly smiled at him, and Ginny and Hermione just nodded briefly, studying at the floor. Hurried footsteps came and Harry and Ron appeared in dress robes. "Hi," Harry said, trying not to pant. The boys had, from the looks they were shooting Riddle, wanted to get their before Tom. Tom smiled politely at them, despite their glares. "Well," Hermione said nervously, "should we go then?"

Ginny and Harry held hands as they went to Slughorn's office, in an uncomfortable silence. Harry and Ron were tense; Ginny and Hermione were nervous; Rowena wasn't showing any emotion; Tom was at perfect ease. "Tom, my boy!" Slughorn cried upon seeing Tom.

Tom smiled politely, "Good evening, sir."

They were ushered inside the office, which had been magically enlarged. Slughorn left the six, to see another guest. They went to a table and sat down. It was silent for about a minute until Ginny dragged Harry to his feet for a dance. "Do you want to dance?" the future dark lord asked Rowena.

Rowena tentatively agreed. The two went to the dance floor and danced. Ron and Hermione followed. Rowena suspected that the boys had decided to keep an eye on her and Riddle. Tom said exactly what she was thinking, "I assume that Harry and Ron are going to be glaring at me the rest of the night."

She nodded. Tom smiled slightly, "Are you ever going to tell me the real reason they hate me?"

Rowena didn't ask how he knew that she had been lying, for she knew, "You got my hint, didn't you?"

Tom nodded, "My father couldn't have been able to duel Harry's father because my father was a muggle. Will you now tell me the truth?"

"No," Rowena decided, "but I might answer another question."

"I'll take you up on that."

When the dance was over, Tom took her hand and pulled her through one of the doors of the office. They stepped out into the night air. There was an entrance between two bushes. The path zigzagged out of sight. "It's a maze," Rowena stated, surprised.

Tom nodded and led her through the maze until they reached a bench. "Now," he said with cold triumph, letting go of her hand, "we can talk in private."

"What are we talking about?" Rowena asked curiously.

"I'm going to ask my question," Tom said in a voice which made Rowena shiver. There was a pause, but not an awkward one. Tom looked at her. His steady gaze made her shiver again, but she met it and held it. Finally, Tom quietly spoke, "I want know how you received these."

Eyes still on hers, he took her hand, palm up, and traced his finger on very faint scars going down her wrist almost to her elbow. His movements made her feel strange. She tried to break away from his gaze, but found she couldn't. "I received two of them from," she whispered, "children at my orphanage. And the other one was from m-my worst enemy's servants."

"And who," he murmured; he had stopped tracing her scars, but still held her wrist, "is your worst enemy?"

She tried to break free her wrist and her eyes, but failed. Lord Voldemort had her cornered. "You," she breathed. He loosened his grip on her wrist and she broke away, running for the exit.

Tom Riddle smiled coldly at her retreating figure; the plan was working. He took out his wand, made himself invisible, and followed Rowena. He knew that she had memorized the route they had taken through the maze, but he had changed it so she would get lost. Her group would find her and he would then gather more information from their conversation. _Yes, _he thought, _things are definitely going according to the plan._

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had followed Riddle and Rowena into the maze, but had gotten lost quickly. During Riddle and Rowena's conversation, the four had been wandering around, completely confused. Suddenly, Rowena, who was walking very quickly, stumbled onto them. "Hi," she said, trying to sound cheerful, "What are you four doing here?"

"Looking for you," Ginny answered while Harry hissed, "Where's Voldemort?"

Rowena sighed, "He isn't Voldemort, completely, yet, and while we're here, you should call him Tom Riddle. If he founds out what we know about him being what he is, he'll probably murder us in our beds."

Hermione asked her, "How can you say it so simply, 'he'll probably murder us in our beds'? It's not a comfortable thought."

Rowena crossed her arms and said, almost wearily, "By now you should know that he has tried to do worse to me then kill me. Actually, he's only tried that once. The other times, he just tortured me, until I found my wand. Then we just fought."

"Why you guys talk about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Ginny said, "I think we should try and get out of here."

The rest nodded and started walking through the maze, Tom Riddle trailing them and making sure they remained lost. "Aren't you a bit scared, though?" Hermione asked Rowena.

Rowena shook her head, "No, it was like a routine for me: I woke up at the crack of dawn, took out my wand, checked to see if Voldemort or any death eaters were at my door, practiced magic, with the ministry's approval, of course, went to the orphanage's school, did homework, learned and practiced magic, and sometime at least once a week I was attacked by Voldemort or his 'friends.'

"It usually was Voldemort who attacked me because his followers really only know how to do simple, or really painful spells. They usually were defeated in minutes. Voldemort, however, was a lot harder. I usually barely escaped, and I probably wouldn't have if he was trying to kill me. This all started about the time of my twelfth birthday.

"Before then, I didn't even bother going to a muggle school, since one of his Horcruxes was haunting me, I was attacked at least once a day.

"Now that you know my life's story, can you understand why I am not trembling with fear every time I see him? I've been fighting him for most of my life and have been able to mask my fear."

The other teenagers, except for Riddle, were staring at her in shock. "We understand," Hermione said nervously, "why you don't show fear, but we made a vow to protect each other, and that means you, too."

"Yeah," Ron put in, "we all have to help each other, that's what Dumbledore told us to do. Anyways, snake-face looks a lot different now. Who knows, maybe he has different tricks up his sleeve."

Harry nodded, "We all know you deny this, but V- oh, alright- _Riddle_ has an interest in you."

Ron added off-handedly, "If I didn't know he doesn't love, I'd say he's almost in love on you."

Rowena stopped in her track and said in a soft, deadly tone, "_What _did you say?"

As if on cue, the moon was hidden by a cloud. _Or maybe, _Tom thought, _her magic made it do that._

Rowena seemed to think this too, for her eyes widened. "Sorry," she whispered with some effort, "I have to go."

With that, she turned and fled into the maze. Hermione and Ginny were about to go after her, but Harry stopped them. "She needs to be alone," he said quietly. "We can't help her until we have the missing piece to this puzzle. We'll learn it when she wants to tell us."

But Harry's wise words didn't stop Tom Riddle from going after her. The Slytherin boy quickly and quietly went after her, for _he _knew the missing piece.

Rowena ran away from the group, trying to control her fury before it controlled her. Somehow she went back to the place where she and Tom had had their 'discussion.' She sat down at the bench and breathed in and out, in and out. It calmed her somewhat, but not enough. The moon remained hidden. "Are you alright?" a voice asked from the shadows.

She jumped and was surprised out of her fury. The moon was revealed again. She mutely nodded. Tom Riddle sat next to her, a faint smile on his face, "What happened?"

There was a long pause. She whispered, sounding scared, "I almost lost my temper."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tom asked quietly.

"I shouldn't," it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him.

Tom said in an even quieter voice, "Are you sure?"

Rowena shivered and nodded. After awhile, she murmured, "When I get angry, hate and evil consumes me. I become horrible and mean. I turn evil. I'm scared of myself then. The muggle children used to taunt me. It was so hard, too hard, to stop myself from hurting them. One day, the worst bullies had knives. They tied me up and gave me most of those scars. I…" Rowena started to tremble, but forced herself to continue, in a soft whisper, "I c-couldn't s-stop myself. I…I t-tortured them t-to d-death…I was so evil…I keep the scars visible to only me…to remind me…"

To her horror, she found she was crying. Tom put his arms around her and she sobbed on his shoulder. Tom knew better than to voice his opinion; she definitely thought differently. _One day, _he thought, _one day she will see that they deserved what they got, filthy muggles._

Rowena didn't know how long they were like that, him holding her as tears rushed down her face. To Rowena, it felt like eternity. She fought drowsiness; the last thing she wanted to do was to fall asleep in the future dark lord's arms. The Slytherin girl moved away from him and he loosened his arms. She stood up and, voice quavering, told him, "I'd better go now. Thank you for listening."

He stood and caught her as she fell. As he cradled her in his arms, her eyes slowly opened and she managed to mumble, "Put me down."

Tom smiled at her, "So you'll fall again? I think not."

Rowena tried to argue, but fell asleep, in her enemy's arms. He shook his head as he made both of them invisible. No one else had managed to stay awake that long after he had put his sleeping charm on them.

When Rowena awoke, she was in her dormitory. Ginny was sleeping in the bed next to hers. She looked at the room's clock above the door. It was five o'clock. Ten minutes later Rowena went down to the common room after getting ready. Once there, she spotted Tom sitting in a chair facing the common room's fire. Quietly walking to the portrait hole, she pretended that she hadn't noticed him. Finally she was out and heading towards breakfast.

In the empty Great Hall, she sat down, relieved that Tom hadn't seen her. It was strange, being the only one in the large room. Shaking off the feeling, she started eating. "Good morning," a pleasant voice said.

Rowena looked up. Tom Riddle was sitting in front of her, smiling charmingly. "Good morning," she said wearily.

They ate in silence, though Rowena was constantly aware of the glances Tom kept sending her way. When they were done, Rowena was about to stand up. Tom stopped her in a charming voice, "What question is bothering you so much?"

Rowena looked at him and knew she wasn't ever going to be able to escape him until she answered his question. But she could at least try. "It wouldn't be wise to tell you here," she told him, "It would be very easy for someone to over hear us."

"Let's go to the grounds, then," Tom said with a smile.

Having no choice in the matter, Rowena walked to the grounds. "Now," Tom said under the shelter of a large tree, "what is bothering you?"

Rowena winced before replying, "I don't think it would be a good idea for me to tell you."

He didn't answer. Rowena shivered; his eyes never left her face. "Goodness, Tom!" she said, "How can you do that to people? I feel like I have no choice, but to answer you."

He laughed, "You don't."

It was true; Rowena was trying her best not to tell him, but couldn't help it. "I'm trying to figure out how you could see my scars," she admitted bitterly.

Tom laughed again, "You already know the answer and you know it. You're afraid of the answer."

Rowena cringed, but said defiantly, "And what is the answer?"

"Our magic is linked together with an unbreakable bond," he replied evenly, "I can tell where you've used your magic. I saw your wrist covered in your magic and I investigated."

Rowena shivered again, but, even though it was tempting, didn't run. "I wonder," she mused, trying to cover up her fear, "if I can see your magic."

Tom smiled, "I don't think you can. Do you know where I have something hidden on me?"

She studied him and shook her head. He smiled at her, "Than that answers your question."

**  
I know I wrote this ****so I ****should**** be really vein about this, but I'm not****. As I reread this, it reminds me of reading a romance novel, minus the creepy parts. I mean: '**_He stood and caught her as she fell. As he cradled her in his arms, her eyes slowly opened and she managed to mumble, "Put me down."__'_ **And, '**_She whispered, sounding scared, "I almost lost my temper."__"Do you want to talk about it?" Tom asked quietly.__"I shouldn't," it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him. Tom said in an even quieter voice, "Are you sure?"_'

**It just sounds so dorky. But I really don't care. It makes me laugh at its over dramatics. **_**And **_**it's fun to write. **

**If you have questions, put them in your review. I update faster if I have reviews! (Hint, hint.) Please continue reading if I have updated chapters. **

**Thank you,**

**Princess Mariana **


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Harry Potter. Spoilers. Read books before reading this. Read previous chapters before reading this. I hate these evil disclaimers. If you write ten of them a day, you would too. Grrr…**

A week later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny confronted Rowena in the Room of Requirement. "Why are you so jumpy?" Ginny asked her, arms crossed.

"And why are you avoiding everyone?" Harry added.

Rowena looked uncomfortable, for it was true; Rowena had been rather careful and nervous lately. She had also been avoiding Tom Riddle, and had, accidentally, been avoiding everyone else.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I suppose you want to know what is going on."

They all nodded and she sighed, and seemed to think for a second. A Pensieve appeared. Rowena motioned the group to touch the liquid in it. They all did so as Rowena gave the Pensieve her memories. She also entered.

_A__ younger of Rowena was tied to a tree, struggling. Blood was pouring from her wrists. A group of older boys laughed at her. Her struggling ceased as her face was filled with pure hatred. The sunny day turned into a thunderstorm. Lighting flashed and it began to rain hard. The boys started looking scared. "You shouldn't have hurt me," little Rowena hissed menacingly. "You will pay, filthy muggles!"_

_ All the boys began to writhe in pain until, one by one, they all stopped moving and lay lifeless. _

The next memory was of one they had all been present at:

_ Tom and Rowena were both disarmed and glaring at each other. __There was smoke everywhere, hiding the audience. _"Watch carefully at what he does," Rowena said miserably to her friends.

_Tom __closed his eyes and began to mutter a spell. A ball of light, his magic, came out of him and floated towards Rowena. A ball of light, her magic, seemed to be sucked out of her. The fog cleared and the balls attacked each other. Tom muttered something again and the two balls entered each other. _

The memory was over and everyone was transported out of the Pensieve. "Why didn't we see what Voldemort had been doing when the magic came out of you two?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Because," Rowena explained, "he didn't want anyone to see him do it, besides me."

"Why did you show us the memories?" Hermione inquired.

Rowena began, "The second one proves that Tom wanted our magics to form a bond, but his being the superior. While we were alone together at the party, I told him about the first memory. I didn't want to tell you the story, since it is one of the worst days of my life. I have been trying to avoid him so he can't get anymore information out of me. I have also been, on accident, avoiding you four."

"Why are you telling us this?" Harry asked. "I mean, about the second memory."

Rowena smiled sadly, "It proves that you were right, he is interested in me, and that the world is doomed. Since Tom has the superior part of the bond, he can trade our magics at any time. Tom can use my magic with ease, but his magic is so full of his…hate, that if I use it, I will turn out like I did in the first memory, except for worse, and at his side. The prophecy is coming true. I wonder if Dumbledore did this on purpose."

"What prophecy?" Hermione asked, trying to process all the information that she was being told.

Rowena recited it in a voice that wasn't entirely hers:

_A__girl will be born with powers equal to the Dark Lord,_

_Half of the Founder__s__, her ancestors_

_Nine scars she will receive from her housemates_

_One scar from her enemies._

_This girl has a fate,_

_She will fight the Dark Lord and tame his evil,_

_Or she will join him and they will become one._

_Woe to the world if she falls into his clutches,_

_For the world will be full of hate and dark love._

_Woe to the one with prejudices if she tames him,_

_For they shall become no more_

_This will only happen if she meets him when he is young._

_When they meet, a prophecy will be broken and save a poor soul_

_Only the daughter of knowledge and hate can she be,_

_Who helps the world defeat chaos,_

_Or drive it to its knees in cruelty_

"I wonder who the girl is," Ron said in awe.

"Ron," Hermione told him, "think real hard."

"I'm going to do homework," Rowena announced wearily, handing them each a copy of the prophecy. "You four should go over the prophecy word by word, to understand the meaning of it."

They nodded and Rowena left. Ginny started, "The first line is: 'A girl will be born with powers equal to the Dark Lord.'"

"That makes sense," Harry said. "Rowena already proved that they have equally powerful magic. The second line is: 'Half of the Founders, her ancestors.' That probably means that two of the founders of Hogwarts are her ancestors. I wonder why that is important."

"Then its: 'Nine scars she will receive from her housemate.' She received scars from her housemates in the memory," Hermione stated.

"'One scar from her enemies,'" said Ron. "She must have received one from death eaters. And 'This girl has a fate.' We all do."

"Really Ron," Ginny said, "it continues on the next line: 'She will fight the Dark Lord and tame his evil.'"

"That means that she will kill Riddle," Ron supplied.

Hermione continued the prophecy, "'Or she will join him and they will be one.' That means she will join his side and they will be equals, I think."

"I agree with you," Harry said. "'Woe to the world if she falls onto his clutches, for the world will be full of hate and dark love.' That is pretty simple. 'Woe to the one with prejudices if she tames him, for they shall become no more.' All the death eaters will go to Azkaban."

"'This will only happen if she meets him when he is young,'" Ginny said thoughtfully. "Rowena has already done that. 'When they meet, a prophecy will be broken and save a poor soul.' What does that mean?"

The sixth years exchanged glances and Harry told her, "There was a prophecy about me and Voldemort. One of us had to die."

Ginny paled and nodded, "You're the 'poor soul' then."

"Then it's: 'Only the daughter of knowledge and hate can she be, who helps the world defeat chaos or drive it to its knees from cruelty," Ron told them. "It means she must be smart and able to hate. And that she will hurt the world or help the world. Pretty simple."

There was applause from the entrance of the room and all four of them turned to see who had intruded on their session. "Expelliarmus!" the stranger cried before they could react.

After Rowena had left the room, she ran to her dormitory. Once there, she began to pace. It had been the first time she had ever given her secret to someone. Now that they knew, anything could happen. Anything could happen; thought began to swirl in her head. Right now was not the time to be worried; it was time for action.

Rowena walked briskly back to the Room of Requirement. _What if Tom had noticed me leave and came in after them? _she wondered, quickening her pace. _What if he does something to them? What if he finds out that we're from the future? Or, worse, finds out about the __prophecy? What will he do? What am _I_ going to do?_

When she reached her destination, she knew that she was too late. No one was in sight, but something told her that Tom was inside the room with her friends. She had been such a fool to leave! Brushing aside her guilt and worry, she went into the room.

The stranger stepped out of the darkness to reveal himself as Tom Riddle. "Don't try running," he advised them in a cold voice. "You can't escape."

"We can certainly try," Harry snapped, hiding his fear well.

Tom smirked at him, "Spoken like a true Gryffindor. I wonder why you weren't placed correctly."

The door suddenly opened and Rowena darted in. She showed no emotion at the sight of Riddle and, instead, instructed her friends, "Don't say a single word. Almost anything anyone says can be used."

Tom attempted to disarm her and she attacked. But within seconds he had won and she was disarmed. "Cheater," Rowena muttered, fighting a smile; she would _not_ let him play with her emotions!

"Not exactly," Tom said with a smile. "In a fight, people use all the resources they have to win. That is just what I did; I tugged your magic to win."

"Cheater," she repeated.

Harry was looking from Tom to Rowena, trying to see if Rowena had any idea how they were going to survive. To his surprise, though, Rowena didn't try to escape. Instead, she sat down on the floor and, with a sigh, asked Tom, "What do you want? Since you have full power over me, you might as well get it over with."

Rowena was going to let him get his way? Harry was bewildered. "It isn't going to work," Tom told her coolly.

She looked at him in surprise, "What isn't?"

"You're plan," he told her. "You are trying to get me to forget your friends."

So she wasn't giving up! Harry felt relieved. Rowena looked pleadingly at Tom and almost begged him, "Can't you let them go? I know everything they know that you would want to know."

He considered her for a second before asking her, "They know things that I should kill them for knowing."

"But they won't tell anyone," Rowena told him. "They have too much commonsense to."

"You're doing it again. You're trying to give them time."

Rowena sounded worried as she said, "I don't usually give up, but I know it's impossible this time. You might as well start doing what you came here to do. I won't try and run as long as you don't hurt them."

Tom smiled at her, "Alright. How do you know about Voldemort?"

**Hmm…what will happen next? **

**I still say that this is a very ****overly dramatic fan fiction, but not as bad as my last chapter. As always this fan fiction is my pride and joy. (Well, maybe not pride, but I still love writing it!)**

**If you have any questions concerning this chapter, put them in your review and I'll answer them on this page. **

**Thanks!**

**Princess Mariana**

**(By the way, if you like TR/OC fan fictions, but don't like this one, or finish this one, or I haven't updated this one, read my other TR/OC fan fictions. I am writing about fifteen of them, even though I have only finished the first chapter, so I can post it, for about five or six of them.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Harry Potter. Read books and previous chapters before reading this. Spoilers. **

"How do you know that we know about Voldemort?" Ginny asked in shock.

"Ginny!" Rowena cried.f

Tom smirked, "You just told me. Now answer my question."

"Give me your guess," Rowena challenged him.

He smirked again, "I haven't told a soul about that name. From all I've heard, you are from the future where I reign as a dark lord.

"How could you know that?" Harry cried out in surprise.

Rowena shook her head, "One thing I've learned my lifetime is not to underestimate him."

"That reminds me of the prophecy," Tom said casually, smiling at Rowena's widening eyes. "Yes, I know about that too. The part of being the descendant of two of the founders interests me. Which two?"

Rowena was in despair as she managed to say miserably, "You already know one of them: Salazar Slytherin. But you will have to know the story of our fool ancestor to understand everything."

"Begin," he ordered her.

She sighed and did as she was told, "A decade after the last of the founders death, Salazar Slytherin's heir spread terror all throughout the small wizarding world. He was very heartless and evil. His name was a laugh: Goodwel. But he did love one person. She was a very young and beautiful girl, and a pureblood. They were married and had one child to start your ancestry, Tom.

"In a desperate attempt to rid the world of such a wretched man, Ravenclaw's youngest daughter, who had been disowned many years before, made Goodwel kill his wife through a trick. In revenge of creating his mother's death, Goodwel's son made his father fall in love with the witch. It was a horrible revenge that also hurt Goodwel. Ravenclaw's heiress hated the punishment, but also used it to her advantage. She killed Goodwel. The wizarding world became happy again, and everyone rejoiced, except for the young witch, for she was with child, the starting of my lineage.

"And that is how I have two founders as ancestors; I'm supposedly the daughter of knowledge and hate."

"We're doomed," Ron groaned.

Riddle looked him in amusement, "What makes you say that?"

"Don't answer him!" Hermione cried.

He looked at her. "I don't understand why you insist on involving them," Rowena said sadly. "They haven't done anything to you. They don't have to be involved. In my birth, Harry was freed from his destiny and the rest of them, too."

"Then why did they come?" Tom asked, turning to her.

Rowena sighed; "For safety. In our time, Harry is bound by a prophecy that makes you try to kill him. He never did anything against you, except to survive. The person who sent us probably thought he or she could kill two birds with one stone."

Tom inquired, "How so?"

"By fulfilling the prophecy about me, and keeping Harry and his friends safe, though I don't know why anyone would think that I could protect them against you."

Tom looked at her calmly, "You're lying."

"Is it so apparent?" Rowena said, wincing. "Well, I suppose I should give you all of the truth."

"You should. Am I right to guess that it was Dumbledore's idea?" Tom replied.

"Don't tell him!" Ginny quickly ordered.

"You just did," Rowena stated. "The first part is true; Dumbledore _did_ send us to kill two birds with one stone, but he wanted us to be in a different time. He knew the risk in sending us here was too great, since I could very easily turn evil and my friends could be killed. A death eater switched them as a favor to Voldemort. If Voldemort ever found out, he'd be furious, of course, since I could always stay good and defeat you, or him."

"Isn't Voldemort the future me?"

Rowena nodded, "Yes, but it is too strange to call you Voldemort, or him, Tom."

Tom gave her a long look before shifting his gaze to her friends. "What are you going to do with us?" Rowena asked him very calmly, like she was asking him if he liked the weather outside.

Tom regarded her with a calculating look; "Wonderful question."

There was a pause before Rowena broke it, "Just out of curiosity, were we friends before this event?"

"More or less."

"Then," Rowena said casually, "if you don't kill us, can we still be friends? I was enjoying it while it lasted."

"Rowena!" Harry, Ron, and Ginny cried. "You're not supposed to be friends with the enemy!" Hermione added seriously.

Rowena flashed them a wicked smile; "He isn't my enemy in public."

Tom smiled; "Of course we can still be friends. I liked it too, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered."

The four friends looked horrified, while Rowena smiled. "That reminds me," Tom said, "I know what to do with you."

"I suppose you aren't going to tell us yet," Rowena mused.

Tom nodded and turned to leave. Rowena watched his retreating figure carefully. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Harry let out a sigh of relief, "We're safe for now."

"No we aren't," Rowena told him, standing up.

"Oh, what do we do? What do we do?" Hermione and Ginny frantically said.

Rowena looked at them wearily, "Be calm."

They attempted to obey. "Good," Rowena said. "All of you, we need to form a circle, holding hands."

The group consented. Rowena looked at each of them in turn. "Listen and remember this," she ordered them. "If I turn evil, kill me. If you have a chance to escape, run, even if it means leaving the rest of us behind. Don't kill Tom, no matter what. If you do escape, go back home. Try to think about what you say and try not to talk to him too much. Remember, do not, do _not_, worry about me, or risk your life for me. Understood?"

They nodded solemnly. "Good," Rowena continued, "Now I will tell you what I am going to do. I am going to make contact with him and learn information. I need all of your strengths. Just let yourself go. If he comes, I'll tell you."

Everyone nodded again and closed their eyes. Rowena slightly pulled on their magic. She took just a little of each, combined it with her own, and reached out to feel for Riddle's presence. _I hate you_, she told him when she had found him.

_I somehow doubt that,_ he wickedly informed her.

Rowena easily kept her temper from emerging. _Why did you want me to do this?_ she asked him.

_If you hate me so much, then why did you do as I asked?_ he inquired, almost making her temper flare.

Rowena quickly notified him, _I had to. If I didn't, you would have come back and switched our magics, making me helpless. _

_You were listening. Good, very good,_ he praised her smugly.

_Will you keep your side of the bargain?_

_For now, _was the reply.

And in that instant, Rowena knew that he was coming back. She quickly jolted out of her trance, giving her friends their magic back. They all stood up and watched the figure that was nearing them.

Tom stepped out of the shadows and waved his wand. Rowena was lifted into the air and was gently set down away from her friends. Rowena now began to fear, for Tom had created an invisible barrier between Rowena and the rest of them. Tom pointed his wand at Harry and muttered curse. "No!" Hermione, Ron, and Ginny shouted as Harry fell to the ground and started writhing in agony. Tom looked at Rowena as she watched, expressionless. "Remember my promise," he told her in a deadly voice.

A minute passed. Then another and another, until Rowena couldn't bear it any longer. She charged at the invisible barrier. It wasn't that hard to get through, though it weakened her terribly. A cold and delighted smile settled on Tom's face as he saw her on his side of the barrier. "You know what will happen if you do it," he warned her softly.

Rowena glared at him and ran in-between Harry and Tom. The spell instantly stopped and Harry slowly stood. Rowena and Tom ignored this. "I don't care!" she bravely shouted at him, then her voice slowly turned into a soft, scared one, "I don't care if you…I don't care if you take my magic and try to put yours in me. I won't accept it. If…if I die, then so be it."

Her friends realized what Riddle was going to do because of Rowena's actions. "No!" Ginny shouted and ran to her friend. She was thrown back by an invisible wall.

Tom's and Rowena's magics appeared, and Rowena's eyes widened in horror and she seemed to be seeing or hearing something no one else could. "No," she whispered, "don't do that."

"They will forget, of course," Tom told her smugly.

Rowena shivered and the balls started slightly touching each other, only to instantly jump away. "That isn't the worst part though," Rowena whispered in reply. "If I can't warn them…help them…talk to them…it would be awful."

Tom laughed; "You won't be alone."

"That's reassuring," and she fainted.

* * *

Someone was sitting beside her, she noticed as she became aware of her surroundings without moving. "I know that you're awake," a familiar voice told Rowena.

Rowena sat up and looked around. She was in the hospital wing and Tom Riddle was sitting beside her. "Remember," he murmured to her. "Forget all that has happened. You do not know anything about Cornet, the Smiths, or Granger. You just traveled here because Dumbledore told you to. They were not with you. You were attacked last night by an unknown person. You are too frightened to remember. Headmaster Dippet suspects Cornet, the Smiths, and Granger. They were found asleep by you and have refused to tell anything. They will be given detentions, but cannot get into any more trouble because there is no proof."

"I hate you," she quietly informed him before nodding.

Professor Dippet came into her view. "Hello, Rowena," he said cheerfully. "I have come to see if you remember anything about last night."

Rowena forced tears to come to her eyes and shuddered, shaking her head slightly. Tom pretended to act worried, "Professor, I don't think she knows anything."

"Oh," a very disappointed professor said before leaving.

Tom looked at her steadily. "Just let me say it one more time," she said grimly. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I _hate_ you. _I hate you_."

Tom laughed; "That was more than once."

Rowena breathed in and out. She gave him a very angry look before putting a smile on. "We will forget everything that has happened, except for what the school knows," she told him. "Otherwise, I will not be able to keep on a good mask."

Tom gave her an innocent look, "Of course…By the way, you will be sick for a few days if you do not accept my magic. Your magic, at the moment, is in me, so you won't get it back for awhile."

"You know I will not give in to your magic," she told him.

He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to lie down. His eyes focused his gaze on her face for a moment. "You can be a fool as long as you please," he said. "Just remember I will always be waiting for you and guiding you." She stared right back at him. Suddenly, Rowena found that she couldn't breathe. It seemed that she was falling into Tom's grey eyes. Abruptly, Tom stood up and left. Rowena started breathing again with a sigh of relief. She couldn't understand what had happened.

When Rowena awoke again, Tom was at her bedside again. "You've only past your first stage of the illness. You could save yourself some bother and give in. I will win, you know," Tom told her.

She glared at him, "If I survived sixteen years of you torturing me, I'm sure I can survive one illness."

Tom just smiled with amusement. All of a sudden, he put his hand on her forehead. "Just as I thought," he informed her, removing his hand. "You have a fever."

And all went dark.

* * *

"_Go away," a young girl told a group of orphans who had gathered around her. _

_"You killed Freddie and his friends," one of the girls said stoutly._

_"Go away!" the girl said, this time louder. "I did not!"_

_"Did to!"_

_The girl glared at the group. They all backed away, but did not run. Suddenly, fire was everywhere. Everyone, except for the accused girl began to panic, running in different directions. As soon as it had come, the fire vanished and the children fled from the very calm girl. She laughed, a cruel laugh, an evil smile on her face. Suddenly her eyes widened and she began to cry. Then she put her hands to her throat and tried to strangle herself._

"Rowena!" a cold voice commanded her. "Calm down."

Rowena woke up to find Tom holding her wrists as she thrashed in her bed. Instantly, she stopped and Tom let go of her wrists. His eyes searched her face for a clue of what had happened. Rowena looked back at him with restored confidence. "Give it back," she commanded him in a threatening voice.

Tom didn't say anything. Rowena closed her eyes and summoned her magic. There was a flash of blue light and Rowena felt it return. When Rowena reopened her eyes, Tom stood up to leave, and he was smiling. "You've overcome your weakness. You are now able to live life without your friends again," he explained at her questioning look.

Rowena asked, "And you want this because…?"

Tom smirked, "I don't want a weak partner." He left, pursued by Rowena's glare.

* * *

The next day, Rowena hurried to finish the school work that she had missed. Rowena had been moved to dormitory filled with other girls. Ginny had her own room, as decided by Dippet, to protect other girls from her.

A week after her recovery, at lunch, Tom asked her, "What are you doing this weekend?"

"Studying," she answered wearily.

He smiled at her. "Meet me in the common room on Saturday; I want to show you something."

Saturday came quickly and Rowena had little time to prepare for the meeting. Tom smirked at her when he saw her. She sighed. "Follow me," he ordered her.

She did as she was told and followed him down to the grounds. Once there, he politely inquired, "Can I do something?"

Rowena gave him a suspicious look. "What?"

He laughed. "You'll see."

"Do I have a choice?"

Instead of answering, Tom put his arm around her waist and pressed her tightly to him. With his other hand, he took out his wand and pointed up. They flew up in the air and landed in a tree where Tom released her. They sat; Rowena's face a little pink. "So," Rowena said, studying the ground, "what are we doing?"

Tom laughed. "Look up."

She obliged and gasped at what she saw. Rowena had seen Hogwarts's lake before, but not when she was so high up. She could also see the forbidden forest. "It's magnificent," she whispered in awe.

Rowena was so occupied by the view that she didn't see Tom's satisfied smirk, a grave mistake on her part.

* * *

Tom, Rowena, Harry, Ron, and Hermione still sat together in classes, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't trust or know Rowena anymore. Tom, to Rowena's fury, always got the golden trio in trouble, not that the teachers made that difficult. Most of the students and teachers disliked Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny because of what they had 'done' to Rowena.

Tom and Rowena strengthened their relationship as friends, though Tom still acted strange to Rowena and Rowena was saddened about the loss of her past friends. Rowena knew that something bad would happen to her if she talked to her old friends alone.

One day, when Tom was elsewhere, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione cornered Rowena in an unused classroom. Even though they had their wands pointed at her, Rowena wasn't afraid and she asked them evenly, "What do you want?"

"What is your relationship with Riddle?" Harry questioned fiercely.

Rowena tried very not to let any emotion don her face as she replied, "That is none of your business, but I can reassure you that I am not helping him turn into Voldemort."

Ginny gasped, "She knows about that!"

"Of course I do," Rowena said, talking quickly. "No matter what happens, know that I am on your side, but don't trust me. Tom has full control over me. I don't know what he intends to do with me after I told you all this, but none of us are going to like it. I was sent to the past by Dumbledore with you, but Tom erased your memories of me. You must remember, Tom already knows all about you. I know you won't do this, but running would be the most intelligent thing to do. Remember that I could turn sides very quickly without meaning to, so don't trust me, ever! No matter what he does or I do, I am loyal to you. And, also, never-"

Rowena stopped quickly as the door flew open. Tom Riddle's face was full of rage. Harry hissed, "Riddle."

Hermione paled, and Ginny looked like she was going to faint. Ron looked scared but he managed to mutter with hatred, "Voldemort."

Rowena was terrified, but she hid it well. Tom didn't look at her, but at the others. He didn't even need his wand as he made them fly into the wall and crumple to the ground. Tom took out his wand and quietly said, "Crucio."

All four of them started writhing in pain. "Stop it." Rowena glared at him, her hands balled into fists. The victims were instantly freed of the illegal curse.

Tom turned his gaze on her. Rowena saw that his eyes were scarlet. She did her best to ignore this as she pointed her wand at him and attempted to jinx him. He put up a shield charm and the jinx didn't touch him.

Tom disarmed her and she watched her horror as her wand clattered to the floor, yards away from her. Tom quickly strode closer to her. Rowena backed up and felt the wall behind her. Her eyes widened in fear. Tom pinned her to the wall. "I thought," he murmured in her ear, his voice dangerously calm, "that you would heed my warnings and your commonsense."

"I…I w-was only waiting f-for m-my chance," she mumbled.

"Don't you understand what I will do to them?" his voice sounded very dangerous.

Rowena shuddered. "They cornered me, so they would get punished anyways."

He murmured back, "What about _your_ punishment. I know you said you aren't afraid of what I can do to you, but I've been holding back ever since Slughorn's party."

Rowena tentatively answered defiantly, "You're bluffing."

"We'll see." With that, he kissed her.

Rowena automatically froze. Something made her not rebel. Tom snaked his arm around her waist. Suddenly, it clicked. She realized what he was doing – what she was _letting_ him do. With all her might, Rowena struggled.

He stopped, but still held her close to him. "I warned you," he whispered, then released her and left.

Rowena slid down the wall. The four friends hesitantly walked over to her. "Are you alright?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"Why did he kiss you?" Ron wondered.

"Ron!" Hermione snapped. "She obviously didn't like it, unless she was acting."

"Ick." Ron shuddered at the thought of someone actually enjoying being kissed by Riddle.

**They're first kiss! **

**It took me forever to write this chapter. One of my siblings came into my room and read over my shoulder at the part that Rowena says 'I hate you.' Then my sibling completely ruined the image for me! My sibling said, 'And she whispered, "I hate you," with love in her eyes while he tenderly stroked her cheek.'**

**Ick! It completely ruined it! My perfect image of intense hate was ruined. But I finally got over it and typed it up (even if it wasn't very well). Well, I'm glad that it's over. Now to the next chapter, which my sibling will probably ruin for me. **

**The part after Tom tortures Harry and Rowena hears an unknown voice might be confusing to you. Tom is telling her, nonverbally, of what he is going to do to her and her friends. Cheerful, isn't it? (Sarcasm.)**

**If you have any questions, please put them in your review and I will post them on this page. Please Review!**

**Sincerely,**

**Princess Mariana **


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